Debate over the public safety network is becoming a political football. |
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But to some in public safety work, the telecom community’s involvement has blurred the issues and turned the fight for a public safety network into a political tug of war.

“It’s about our needs, and what’s available for us, to accomplish the goal,” said Dick Mirgon, the immediate past president of the Association for Public-Safety Communication Officials. APCO works closely with the PSA, which supports the reallocation plan favored by AT&T and Verizon.

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“I understand they’ve got their issues,” Morgan said to POLITICO of the telecom companies, “but they’re not our issues.”

In an interview, NYPD Deputy Chief Charles Dowd made a similar point. “You see Sprint and T-Mobile against us on this issue, and AT&T and Verizon with us. And they all have their parochial interests,” said Dowd, who does considerable work with the PSA.

“While we appreciate support from vendors, this is a public safety issue. At the end of the day, we don’t care what they say ... we don’t want this to be driven by the companies that have interests, whether for us or against us,” he said.

Still, the debate is sure to pick up in coming months. Leading the charge is Sen. John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, who has promised to make a reallocation of the D-Block for a public safety network a top committee priority.

Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), as well as House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King (R-N.Y.), are also reallocation supporters. King introduced his bill earlier this year, and McCain and Lieberman are soon to follow suit.

But Rockefeller’s efforts fall most closely in line with the president’s own proposal, articulated in the 2012 budget. Both would pay for the network through the auction of other, unused airwaves volunteered by broadcasters — an effort that could alleviate a spectrum crunch, if broadcasters are willing to participate.

And the fight could still be tough on the Hill. The chief obstacle may be top House Republicans, who are exploring whether the D-Block auction could actually create a budget hole.

The eventual sale of those airwaves, valued around $3 billion, is expected to help fill federal coffers. But the Obama administration maintains its total wireless package — which includes reallocation — will not only cover any shortfall but can fund the network’s build out and still deliver savings over 10 years.

But even Republicans who remain skeptical told POLITICO they felt they could hear through the debate’s political noise. Among them was Nebraska Rep. Lee Terry, who stressed that members intended to put public safety first.

“Every bill we have has different elephants fighting in the room, and so that’s normal course of business,” said Terry, who has signaled support for an auction. “Our job here is to kind of sift through all of that noise and figure out what the best use of that is.”

Readers' Comments (2)

The 'tussle' is over government control of the internet. this is a side issue of that one.

ON this issue, I say let the cops use the cameras. The issues are deep and we have all seen them played out in the action thrillers where tapping into business cameras allows the watchers to locate people walking down the street.